Saving Mothers' Lives: - Public Health Agency for Northern Ireland

158
12 Deaths from psychiatric causes
Table 12.3
Main psychiatric diagnosis by cause of death; United Kingdom: 2003-05.
Diagnosis Suicide Substance
misuse
Cause of death
Physical
illness
Violence
Psychosis 5 0 0 0 5
Severe depressive illness 7 0 2 0 9
Anxiety/depressive adjustment 3 0 2 1 6
Alcohol dependent 1 1 8 2 12
Drug dependent 5 20 15 5 45
Personality disorder 2 0 2 0 4
Learning disability 0 0 2 0 2
No psychiatric diagnosis 0 1 1 0 2
Unascertained 10 0 1 2 13
All 33 22 33 10 98
Suicide
Five women who were suffering from a psychotic illness committed suicide. One death occurred in late
pregnancy and another shortly after delivery. Both of these women had a previous history of postpartum
psychosis and bipolar illness. The three other women died later after childbirth, one of whom had a
previous history of puerperal psychosis. There were no cases of psychosis in the other causes of
psychiatric death.
Seven women who committed suicide were suffering from a severe depressive illness. One died in midpregnancy
and the others later after childbirth. Four of these women had a previous history of severe
depression. In addition, two women who died from medical conditions were suffering from a severe depressive
illness: one died in early pregnancy from myocarditis and a second a few weeks after delivery from adult
respiratory distress syndrome. In both cases it was felt that the women’s mental health had delayed their access
to medical care and that the antidepressants they were receiving had contributed to their condition.
Substance misuse
Substance misuse was either directly or indirectly associated with the deaths of 57 women. Twelve
of these women were alcohol dependent and forty-fi ve were illicit drug dependent. Most of the drug
dependent women were using heroin, but a large number were also misusing amphetamines, cocaine,
benzodiazepines and alcohol.
Six of the women who died from suicide were known substance misusers, fi ve of whom used intravenous
heroin. Four died by hanging and two died from an overdose of paracetamol, one in pregnancy and one
later after delivery.
Twenty two substance misusing women died after a drug overdose, one of which was due to alcohol
toxicity. Eight more women who were alcohol dependent and a further fi fteen who were drug dependent
died from medical causes directly or indirectly associated with their substance misuse. A further two alcohol
dependent women died in house fi res while intoxicated and fi ve drug dependent women were either
murdered or died in a road traffi c accident as a consequence of their drug use.
All